Greene King approaches deadline for Spirit takeover

2nd Nov 2014 15:11

FTSE 250 drinks group Greene King is expected to announce a £720m takeover of sector peer Spirit early next week.The deal being prepared is reportedly set to total £720m and follows talks between the two groups over the past few weeks.The combined group would operate more than 3,000 pubs.Spirit previously told Greene King it would recommend the offer if certain other terms were approved. Under the revised proposal, Spirit investors would get about 29% of the combined equity of the new enlarged company.Spirit recently reported a strong performance by its managed pubs arm, which lifted annual profits despite mixed summer weather and higher costs.